§ Mr. BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the criteria for assessing applications for financial support for economic and physical regeneration initiatives for funds administered by his Department; and what account they take of(a) the variation in the availability of previously developed land and buildings and (b) other considerations of environmental capacity. [152339]
§ Mr. CabornThe aims of my Department's policies for economic and physical regeneration were summarised in the recent White Paper, "Opportunity for All in a World of Change". These are based on putting greater emphasis on growth within all regions, by assessing under-performance, putting in place the building-blocks for economic success and establishing strategies for sustaining this success. The exercise of these policies is based on equipping all regions with the means to build on their own distinctive cultures, know-how and competitive advantages. These will include factors relating to land, buildings and the environment, and criteria of this kind are being included in the corporate plans currently being agreed jointly between the regional development agencies, my Department and the DETR and DFEE.